Alley
by The Real Mr. Taco
Summary: One day Anna is walking home from work when a flash of white catches her eye. Modern AU
1. Chapter 1

**Alley**

"Hey, Kristoff." Anna is skipping down the sidewalk while talking to her best-friend Kristoff. Tall skyscrapers surround her, and the mesh of people surrounding her are rushing around to get to their destinations.

"Yes, Anna?" Kristoff responds from the other side of the phone.

"Have I told you about the two really sweet boys at the orphanage yet?" Anna asks. She doesn't wait for Kristoff to respond before saying, "They are called Olaf and Marshmallow. Marshmallow isn't his real name though. Olaf just called him that one day and It stuck." Kristoff chuckles at this.

"But anyways," Anna continues, "They are always together. They even sleep in the same room! One time I saw Marshmallow had fallen asleep on Olaf's shoulder. It as the sweetest thing! Previously, Marshmallow was defending Olaf from some bullies, and I guess he became really tired and fell asleep on Olaf. Kinda like how you would help me sometimes with those big meaners. They would always make fun of everybody and th-"

"Anna," Kristoff interrupts.

"Yes?"

"You're rambling again," He points out.

"Oops! Sorry, Kristoff. Enough of that then. How have you been?" Anna apalogizes.

"Sven tore up the coach," Kristoff said.

Anna gasped, "He didn't!"

"Oh, he did," Kristoff proceeded to tell Anna about how his dog Sven made a mess of his living room.

By the time Kristoff got near the end of the story, Anna was a couple of buildings away from her apartment complex, and the night was fast approaching.

"...and it took me four hours to clean up. Can you believe it?" Kristoff exclaimed.

 _Clang!_ A loud noise startled Anna before she could give a response. She looked to her left to see a dim alley. A trash can was tipped over. Its contents spilled over the ground.

"Anna?" Kristoff asks.

"Yeah?" Anna answers back distantly.

"You there?"

"Yeah. Hey, Kristoff. I'll have to call you back tomorrow," Anna says as she stares into the alley. She notices a flash of white every now and then.

 _Click._ "She hung up," observed Kristoff.

Anna continued to stare into the dark alley. A couple minutes went by until Anna saw a small, almost white, figure peek over some trashcans. Anna could see ice-blue eyes peer out at her.

"Hello there," Anna calls out.

The figure squeaked and ducked back behind the trashcans.

"It's alright. I won't hurt you," reassures Anna. The figure slowly peeks over the trashcan again. "I"m Anna. What is your name?"

The figure remained silent.

"Can you come out from behind the trashcans?" Anna continues when a reply was not forthcoming.

Slowly, the figure moves into view. Anna can see the figure is a little girl no older than seven. She looked malnourished and was wearing almost completely torn up shorts and a worse off blue shirt. Nothing was covering her bare feet.

Anna looked at her face. Despite the shape she was in, the girl's blue eyes shown with intelligence and, surprisingly considering how she probably grew up, gentleness. The girl's pale hair frames her small face.

Anna smiles. "Can you come over her, Little One?"

The little girl fiercely shakes her head and looks away.

"Well, may I come over there, then?: Anna asks, still smiling.

The little girl glanced at Anna, but she quickly looks away. She nods.

Anna smiles and slowly walks over to the little girl so as not to scare her. When the red-head got to be only a couple feet away, she crouched down in front of the little girl. The little girl glanced at Anna, but she quickly looks away.

"Are you here alone, Little One" Anna asks.

The little girl nods her head in response.

"What happened to your mamma and pappa?"

The little girl just stood there looking downwards. Tears start to fall towards the earth.

"Oh! Don't cry, Little One! Everything will be alright. I can help. I may not look like it, but I work in an orphanage. An orphanage is a safe place to go for children without parents! Oh, but first, we need to get you cleaned up and fed. It's getting late though, so you can just stay at my place for the night. I mean, only if you want to. It's a nice place, and I think you need a good place to rest and all that.," Anna rambles. She looks sheepishly at the little girl. " I mean, if you want to , that is?"

The little girl looks at Anna in surprise. A ghost of a small smile seems to appear on her face. Slowly, the little girl nods.

"Well, come on then, Little One," Anna beams at the girl and holds out her hand. The little girl looks at Anna''s hand and hesitantly takes it.

"My apartment is just a couple buildings away. We'll get you a bath first thing, okay?"

Once back at the apartment, Anna leads the little girl into the bathroom. Anna left the little girl in the doorway and walks over to the tub to fill it with warm water.

"Little One, you need to get undressed in order to take a bath. I'm going to go coo some food. You just take your time in the bath. I'll keep dinner warm for however long it takes."

As Anna was walking by, the little girl reaches up and grabs the back of her shirt. Anna stops and turns towards the little girl.

"What is it?" she asks.

The little girl responds by looking up at Anna with pleading eyes.

Anna smiles an understanding smile. "Do you need help, Little One?"

The little girl nods almost imperceptibly.

Anna helps undress the little girl. She notices that she could count the little girl's ribs with how skinny she was.

" _She just needs regular meals to get healthy,"_ Anna thinks.

Anna makes sure the little girl is settled in the bath.

"I'll leave some clothes on the toilet for you to use. Is it alright if I go make dinner now?" Anna questions.

The little girl nods once again to show that she will be alright.

Just as Anna was done setting the tables, the little girl comes out wearing a baggy, white shirt that looks like a dress on her.

"Your hair is so white! I didn't notice, since it was dirty. Is it your natural hair color?"

The girl nods, looking shy.

"I love it!" Anna squeals. "It looks so cute on you! And it's so nice and soft looking unlike my hair! Mine is curly and so frizzy. It gets really annoying to take care of, but I be yours is the kind that is easy to take care of. It just needs regular washing and brushing. I love it!" Anna says somehow without taking a breath.

Anna looks towards the startled girl. She smiles. "Sorry about that. I ramble a lot. Anyways, come eat. Dinner is ready, Little One."

The little girl sits at the table, and Anna proceeds to talk about many different things like the orphanage and the children there. The little girl just ate her food while listening to Anna ramble on.

Once the little girl was done eating, she sat with her hands folded in her lap. She watched Anna as she animatedly told her about two boys named Olaf and Marshmallow.

"Oh, look at the time! It's already 10 o'clock. We should be getting to bed. You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the couch," Anna decides.

Anna leads the little girl to her bed. She then helps the little girl under the covers. The little girl seems surprised at being tucked into a bed. Anna just smiles at her astonishment.

She pulls the covers up to the little girls chin. Anna looks into her ice-blue eyes and says, " You won't ever be alone again, Little One. You just need to let me in. I will always be here for you. Goodnight, Little One." Anna leans down to press a kiss to the little girl's forehead.

Anna turns to leave when she hears a soft voice say, "My name is E-elsa, Miss Anna."

Anna turns with a great big smile on her face. "Sweet dreams, Little Elsa, and thank you for finally giving me a chance.


	2. Chapter 2

Elsa woke up in a strange room. She looked around confused.

" _Why am I in a bed? What happened to the trashcans and the darkness?"_ Elsa thinks.

Slowly, the events of the night before come back to her.

" _There was a lady,"_ she ponders. _"Cana? No, Anna."_

Elsa tilts her head to sniff the air. A succulent scent wafts throughout the room.

Elsa gets out of the very comfy bed and follows the scent out the door and into the kitchen. She stops in the doorway as she notices a red-headed figure already moving about the room.

" _This,"_ Elsa thinks, _"This is Anna."_

Elsa stands in the doorway for a while just observing this Anna. Anna is bouncing all over the place, seemingly making something. However, Elsa could not see what it was she was cooking.

After a while, Anna spins around with two plates filled with pancakes and bacon. That's when she saw Elsa.

Anna grins as their eyes meet. She says, "Good morning, Little Elsa! Hope you slept well. When you're done standing there, come have some breakfast. Pancakes and bacon! The absolute best breakfast!"

Anna leads the way to the table with Elsa shuffling behind her. Anna sets the plates on the table and pulls out a chair for Elsa to sit in. Elsa just looks at the chair, then back at Anna. Her eyes were pleading for Anna's help.

Anna chuckles and smiles. "You can't reach, can you?"

Elsa shakes her head and looks down with a slight blush coloring her sheeks. She whispers, "Please help."

Anna squeals and lifts Elsa up to Elsa's surprise. "Anything for such a cutey like you, little Elsa!"

Anna spins Elsa around before sitting her on the chair. Elsa squeaks when she is spun.

Elsa shyly looks away and whispers, "Thank you, Miss Anna."

"Just call me Anna. You don't have to put miss in front of my name. I'm not a miss. At least, I just don't feel like a miss. I mean, I am a girl. I just, um, don't feel like an adult. I am an adult though, but I'm just, you know, I'm just me!" Anna emphasizes what she says with frantic hand motions.

"Um, Anna?" a small voice interupts.

"Oh! Yes, Little One?" Anna stops her rambling.

"May I eat now?" Elsa shrinks below the table. She didn't have that far to go since her head is barely over the table in the first place.

Anna smiles and says, "Of course you can! You don't have to wait for me to stop talking. I'll probably talk throughout breakfast because that is what I do. If I start talking your ear off, don't be afraid to tell me. I tend to ramble a lot like what I'm doing right now. Can you tell me about yourself?" Anna takes an abrupt turn of topic.

Elsa mutters something inaudible.

"What was that, Little Elsa?" Anna leans forward to hear better.

Elsa pouts and repeats in a slightly louder voice, "Don't wanna. Hmpf." She crosses her arms and pouts some more.

Anna's smile fell slightly at that, but she perks up quickly after that. She thinks, _"Guess she doesn't trust me enough yet. But that's alright. She'll open up eventually. I'll just have to be with her until then."_

Anna says aloud, "Okay, okay. You don't have to. I'll just tell you about myself. That way you can get to know me better and hopefully trust me, and you can eat while I do. That is, if you want me to?" Anna asks as she smiles reassuringly to Elsa.

Elsa shyly smiles and nods as she glances at Anna. Elsa looks back towards her food and slowly starts eating as Anna talks with her hands moving once again.

"Where to start. Hmmm. Well, I'm an only child. Although I've always wanted a sibling, preferably a sister. Yeah," Anna sighs, "that would be great.." She pauses. "Anyways! I work at an orphanage as I have previously stated. Um, I like pancakes and bacon! Obviously since I made it for breakfast."

Around this time, Elsa finishes eating. She quietly sets her utensils onto the plate and folds her hands on her lap. She proceeds to watch Anna as she continues speaking.

"My bestfriend also likes bacon. His name is Kristoff. He has a cute little doggy called Sven. He's a mischief maker. Just yesterday he messed up Kristoff's apartment. But the kids at the orphanage really like him when they com to visit. Speaking of the orphanage, we really need to get going!" Anna finally stops talking as she gathers the plates to put n the sink.

Anna leaves the room, but quickly returns carrying a pile of childrens' clothes.

"These are my old clothes from when I was around your age," Anna says as she hands them to Elsa. "You can war something from this pile so you don't have to wear that too big shirt. Do you want my help again?"

Elsa shakes her head as she picks up the clothes. She walks towards where she remembers the bathroom to be.

After around five minutes, Elsa comes out. She has on a faded blue dress that went down to just above her knees.

"Aww! You look adorable in my old dress!" Anna gushes.

Elsa looks down, blushing again. She wears a small smile as she heads over to Anna.

Anna grins and says, "We've got to go to the orphanage now, Little Elsa."

Elsa nods, so Anna opens the door for Elsa. They walk out into the hallway together and out the building.

Anna is walking along chattering like the birds in the trees when she feels a small hand slip into her own. She looks down, startled.

Elsa looks back up at Anna and smiles her first big smile. Anna gets over her stupor and smiles back as they walk down the street.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes:**

 **1) I won't do many of these. I will only write A.N. when I feel as if I should apologize or if I have something I need to say.**

 **2) I am so so sorry I didn't update sooner. I had it all written up for a while now, but I lost the notebook I had been writing in. I was not going to rewrite it because I really liked how it turned out the first time.**

 **3) I know very little (nothing) about orphanages. I made all this up in my mind.**

* * *

"Welp! This is it, the Orphanage," Anna shows Elsa as she waves her arms towards a gray, 4-story building. "It's where you'll be staying until a new Mama and Papa can take care of you."

"B-but I already have a Mama and Papa," Elsa interrupts. Tears start to well up in hereyes. "I don't want new ones!"

"Oh, don't cry, Little Elsa!" Anna comforts. She wrapps Elsa in a hug. "You don't have to get some yet!"

Elsa sniffles and wipes her nose on Anna's shirt.

"Ew! Don't do that you silly billy! It's gross!" Anna makes a face of disgust.

Elsa giggles and shows her small smile.

Anna grins and urges, "Let's go inside now. I'm already late as it is! And you, my Little Elsa, need to get toknow your knew home."

At first, Elsa ollows Anna towards the door, but she freezes at the last words.

"What's wrong, Elsa?" Anna asks, confused. "We need to get going."

Elsa looks down and mumbles something inaudible.

"We're going to have to work on that volume problem, dear. Can you repeat what you said? I couldn't quite catch it." Anna moves to crouch in front of Anna.

Elsa looks into Anna's eyes as she repeats, "W-why can't I stay with you, Miss Anna?"

Anna's gaze saddens. She puts her hands on Elsa's shoulders. "I'm sorry, Elsa. It doesn't work that way. It's illegal for me to live with and underage person that is not related to me. I mean, I would love for you to live with me, but it can't happen. There's a famil out there waithing for you, and you don't need to call me Miss."

Elsa just looks at Anna. Her eyes filled with longing.

Elsa eventually turns away and towards the plain building. She walks forward, pulling Anna with her.

Anna holds the door open for Elsa to walk in. Elsa looks around at the interior. It looks like the front room of an office building. A plain desk sits in the middle with a secretary sitting behind it.

;What can I do for yo-," the secretary pauses as she looks up and sees who stands before her. "Oh! It's just you Anna. You're late."

"There's a very good reason for that, Glynda!" Elsa exclaims. "You see I-"

"Hold it!" Glynda interrupts. "Before you start your rambles, who is that?" She points at Elsa, who is hiding behind Anna's leg.

"This," Anna steps out from in front of Elsa, "is Elsa. I found her last night in an alley. She was alone, so I thought she could stay with me for the night because she didn't have anyone. She actually needs to be admitted here. Can you find her a room?"

Glynda blinks at the flood of information. She recovers quickly and answers, "Of course! Although, we are out of single rooms, so she will have to share a room." Glynda looks at Elsa and smiles. "Is that okay with you, Elsa?"

Elsa scrambles behind the protection of Anna's legs. She peers around Anna's legs towards Glynda and nods her head. She quickly hides behind Anna again.

Anna chuckles. "Little Elsa, you don't need to be so shy. Glynda won't hurt you. Nobody here will hurt you. Okay?"

Elsa nods her head. However, she remains in the spot she thinks is most safe, behind Anna's legs.

Anna just sighs and turns to Glynda. "I'm going to take her to The Playroom. Can you send someone to me when you have the room set up?"

Glynda smiles and responds, "I will. Don't worry about it. I'll make sure she is paired with a nice girl."

"Thank you very much, Glynda! Now Little One, I'm going to show you where you'll be playing if you choose to play inside. You can usually play outside, but since swings are being put up, outside is unavailable for today." Anna begins to explain to Elsa as they start to walk deeper into the building.

Eventually the pair come to a multicolored door.

"This," Anna gestures at the door, "is The Playroom." She opens the colorful door and steps to the side to show Elsa the inside.

Elsa stands there, frozen. She thinks, "S-so many people! So many kids! W-what am I to do? I've never been around this many kids before!"

"What's wrong?" Anna's voice startles Elsa out of her stupor.

"I've n-never been around another kid before," Elsa whispers. "Papa wouldn't let me."

Suddenly, Anna sweeps Elsa in a hug. Elsa could feel something wet drip onto her shoulder. Anna is crying.

"It's okay, Elsa!" Anna crys. "You can play all you want now. You can play games with the other children. Games like hide-and-seek, tag, and kingdonm!"

This interested the white-haired girl. She asks, "What is Kingdom?"

"Only one of the most awesome games ever!" is the response. "You'll eventually play it if you choos to go join the others in The Playroom.

Elsa looks into the room filled with children playing. She glances back at Anna to see an encouraging smile. She looks back at the room and takes a hesitant step forwards. Then another. And another. Until she is completely in the room and starting to head towards two boys who where playing in the corner of the room.

"Have fun!" Anna calls out. "And don't forget that I'll come to get you when a room is ready, so you can meet your roommate."

Elsa looks over her shoulder and smiles. She turns back around and continues walking.

"Good luck, Little Elsa," Anna murmurs to herself.

So much noise. So many people. Elsa could barely stand it. She felt scared. Just like the time her mother left her.

"Don't feel, Elsa," she mutters to herself. "Think of something else. Anything else. Like... like Anna! She found me. She won't leave me. I can do this for her. Anna wants me to play and make friends. I won't let her down.

At this, Elsa looks around the room, nervous but not as scared. She sees the two boys she was previously walking towards. One is tall with broad shoulders. His dirty blonde hair has a messy look to it. The boy next to him is smaller and more straggly looking. His pale-blonde hair falls over his airs. Both appear to be around Elsa's own age. She approaches them.

"Have at thee, Sir Marshmallow!" the smaller boy yells as he points a wooden sword at the bigger boy.

"On guard, Sir Olaf," the bigger boy, Marshmallow, replies as he takes a similar stance as Olaf.

The two boys shout a battle cry and start to swing their wooden swords at each other. Elsa stands there and watches, fascinated by their game.

Marshmallow swings his sword in a downward arch. Olaf dodges to the side leaving Marshmallow wide open. Olaf takes his chance and jumps on to Marshmallow's back.

"Give up yer?" Olaf licks his finger and puts it in Marshmallow's ear.

"Eww," a soft voice is heard by the two boys. They turn to look at where the voice came from.

"Hello," Marshmallow greets. "Olaf, can you get your finger out of my ear, please?"

"Oh! Sorry, Marshmallow!" Olaf apologizes as he gets off of the bigger boy. He turns towards Elsa and says, "Hello! I'm Olaf, and I like warm hugs!"

"H-hi," Elsa whispers. She doesn't make eye contact with either of the boys.

All of a sudden, Elsa could feel arms wrap around her. She stiffens and looks at the boy who was now hugging her.

"W-what are you doing, Olaf?" Elsa stiffly questions.

"You looked like you needed a hug, so I am giving you one!" is the reply.

Marshmallow sets down his sword and walks over to the pair. He hugs both of them.

"Yeah," he says.

Slowly, Elsa relaxes into their embrace. The trio stay like that for awhile.

"I know!" Olaf breaks the silence. "We should play kingdom," he declares.

"What is Kingdom?" Elsa asks, a puzzled look on her face.

The two boys jump back in shock.

"You don't know what kingdom is?" Olaf exclaimed.

"Oh, we're definitely playing it now," Marshmallow states.

"Kingdom!" the boys both yell.

Elsa squeals in surprise at he shout.

Once she recovers, Elsa looks around the suddenly silent room. Every kids' eyes are trained on the two boys.

"KINGDOM!" everyone, minus Elsa, roars at once. The children quickly split into two groups on opposite sides of the room.

"Come with us, um, what's your name?" Olaf asks.

"E-elsa."

"Well, come with us, Elsa! You can be in our army!"

"A-army!" Elsa exclaims.

"Olaf, Commander Morgan," Marshmallow suddenly says.

"Oh, yeah! We need to go see Commander Morgan before you can be in the army, but she'll let you in. Most likely anyways," Olaf says cheerfully. "Come on! Let's go!"

Olaf grabs Elsa's hand and pulls her towards one side. This side seems smaller in size. Marshmallow follows behind silently. Olaf leads the other two through the supposed army.

"Commander!" Olaf says. Marshmallow and Olaf salute.

"At ease boys," a girl says. She seems only a couple years older than Elsa. She wears her hair in a braid straight down her back. A scar runs across her nose, running from a point on each cheek.

"Sir!" the boys stop saluting.

 _Sir?_ Elsa thinks. _Isn't Morgan a girl?_

"Hmm, who is this cute little thing?" Morgan looks Elsa up and down. Elsa shrinks away from the scrutinizing gaze.

"Elsa, sir!" Olaf answers. "She's new, sir!"

"Well, Elsa," Morgan begins. "You can be in my kingdom. You may refer to me as Commander. Now, we must defeat the southern Isles Kingdom! Gather, Arendelle!" she calls to her army.

The army of Arendelle quited down and came at the command of their leader.

"Soldiers of Arendelle!" Morgan starts. "Last battle, the Southern Isles beat us. We can not let that happen again! Rally, my friends! We will win this time!" Morgan raises a fist into the air.

"To battle!" the group yells as the raise their own fists into the air.

"Battle stations!" Morgan commands. The army moves to their own spots.

"Elsa," Morgan turns to Elsa, "you will be with me for your first battle. You get to observe."

"Umm, miss Commander?" Elsa asks, "D-do you have a plan?"

"Fight! Win! That is all there is for a plan."

Elsa looks down. "Y-you won't be able to win that w-way."

"What! Of course we can win! We have the optimum fighting spirit!" Morgan exclaims.

"N-no you won't. Battling them head on w-won't work. We are the s-smaller kingdom. We n-need a plan," Elsa explanes. She continues to look at the floor to prevent eye-contact with the Commander.

"Hmm," Morgan hums. "You're right. What would you suggest, my friend?"

"W-well, you could try to s-split them up by luring them to separate sides and s-surround them," Elsa suggests.

"That's," Morgan pauses, a blank look on her face. "That's brilliant! It's starting to look like you're a great addition to my kingdom."

"T-thank you." Elsa glances up and blushes. She quickly looks away when their eyes meet.

Morgan puts her arm around Elsa's shoulders. She chastises, "If ou're going to be my 2nd-in-command, you need to be more confident. Stand up strait. Look people in the eye when you speak. Don't stutter. You'll be fine, my friend."

"S-second?" Elsa stutters.

Morgan glares at her.

"I mean, I'm your second?" Elsa corrects herself.

"Yes, you are," Morgan smiles.

"Really?" Elsa gives a small, hopeful smile.

"From now on. Always, Snowflake."


End file.
